Devizes MP tells of regret over hospital (From This Is Wiltshire)

Devizes MP tells of regret over hospital

7:00am Saturday 20th March 2010 in

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In one of his last speeches as MP for Devizes, Michael Ancram last week spoke of his disappointment that the town has lost its hospital.

Speaking to the Trust for Devizes AGM in a packed Assembly Room at the town hall, Mr Ancram, who is standing down at the next election, said: “We have been badly let down by the PCT.

“It is wrong there is no minor injuries unit in the town and wrong that the maternity unit has closed. It is wrong there is no community hospital in this town.

“But my great disappointment is that I had hoped for a health campus on the Green Lane site as it gave us the possibility of going back to having a hospital.”

Mr Ancram is standing down for reasons of health. He had a heart scare last year and has lost a lot of weight recently.

His office in Westminster is already being shut down. He and his wife Jane are staying in the constituency but downsizing. They are selling Fairfield House, near Pewsey, where they have lived since he won the Devizes seat in 1992, and moving to a smaller property in Burbage.

He will then split his time between Wiltshire and his ancestral home in the Scottish borders.

In congratulating the Trust for its work in fighting for Devizes’ heritage, Mr Ancram also spoke of his disappointment that traffic congestion in the town is still on the increase.

He attacked the attitude of the Government towards rural communities.

He said: “The urban mind sees the countryside as a theme park, only there as entertainment for people who live in towns. That is not what it is about.

“It is a living, breathing economic organism and when the economy recovers I hope all of you here in this town make sure Devizes goes from strength to strength.

“There is a little piece of my heart that will always have engraved on it Devizes.”